14. Fishlips Sushi Truck

10/28/09

Well, you all knew I had to do it eventually. I have been postponing this for far too long. And to be honest, I would have pushed it to yet another day had there been any other truck nearby that I had not yet hit. Not the case. So it was me and the Fishlips staring each other down.
 

The menu is mostly in “sets” of rolls and a few sushi items. On the suggestion of the man taking my order I selected the “Crunchy Set” with a couple of pieces of Unagi ($8.35). As you can see, quantity-wise it was a gracious plenty.

A couple of things here: Number one, I have already expressed my diffidence with regards to consuming raw fish served from a moving vehicle. Second, it is somewhat difficult to eat sushi “on the go”. I found myself sitting on a cement block, in the sunshine and wind, trying to work with mixing the soy sauce, from packets, with the wasabi in a corner of the plastic tray, chopsticks, etc. It reminded me of the day I realized that peanuts are actually a really bad idea for road trip snacks. You end up getting peanut skins and crumblies all over your front, they require two hands, and leave a big pile of shells to deal with. Then all the salt makes you thirsty, so you drink a ton of water, and have to pull over 23 times to pee. But it seemed like a good idea at the time. Such was the situation with the sushi on the sidewalk. I did, however, enjoy staring at this billboard while I ate.

The actual food was not that bad, and certainly not scary. I will say that it was superior to that which would be purchased at, say, Ralph’s, but about on par with the sushi served at Bristol Farms. The pieces of sushi were in ball shapes instead of the little rectangles. That was kind of fun. The fish was fresh enough, and the flavors were there, but there is something that happens to the rice in the refrigeration part of everything. That fish needs to hit the rice and jump into my hands, seamlessly, or it just isn’t going to be right.

There is a certain place in the world for sushi available in stores. We have all done it before, and will probably end up doing it again one day. So, as far as that route goes, you will do just fine with Fishlips. And you can say that you lived to tell the tale.

Hey, guess what, y'all? Only eleven more trucks to go! (until I never get into my skinny jeans again)